National Basketball Association

Pat Riley reaches out to Dwyane Wade via e-mail after long stalemate

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:45 p.m. ET

Rob Perez

The feud between Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade and Miami Heat President Pat Riley has been well-documented. Wade has made it very clear a big reason he left the only NBA franchise he'd played for was because he felt "disrespected" by Riley during contract negotiations this summer.

On the other side, Riley is running a business, not a charity, and he made the decision that the organization would not meet Wade's financial demands.

After Wade signed with Chicago, the two ceased communication with each other — despite tensions remaining. A basketball Cold War, if you will ...

On Thursday, The South Florida Sun Sentinel's Dave Hyde revealed that Riley reached out to Wade via e-mail before the Bulls and Heat tipped off in Miami.

"I hope he got it,'' Riley said 90 minutes before Wade's Chicago Bulls played for the first time in AmericanAirlines Arena. "You know those guys changing phone numbers and e-mails ..."

Wade said an hour before the game he had got the e-mail but hadn't had time to read it. They both said there wasn't any giant rift in their relationship by not talking over the summer of change.

Wade and Riley both downplayed the perceived rift:

"After 13 years together, we don't need a talk or email just to justify how we feel about each other," Riley told the Sun-Sentinel.

"I looked at my emails, I haven't gotten time to look at them," Wade told CSN Chicago's Vincent Goodwill. "Nothing to squash in my eyes. I've spoken through you guys."

Has a truce been reached? Only time will tell ...